Saturday, July 18, 2009

And then it thundered... Part II

Only when we reached the 'venue' did we realize we had to spend the next 6 hours in an open ground, with nothing but grasshoppers for company. There was an airshow going on, that Seby said would be fun. It was, for an hour, after which it got so slow we could've sworn it was the same pilot manning all those fighter planes, and still finding time to take breaks in between.



1 hour later...

Me: I'm bored.

Priya: Me too.

Nitya: Me three.

Seby: Stop it, I say! Hey look, here's F-22! Isn't it a beauty? Whoooooo.....

Me: It's about time. The pilot went home after F-18 or what?

Seby: Shut up, will you? Look look! Did you see him do the somersault? What a guy!! Man, this is frikkin' awesome!



2 more hours later...

"Heyyy!", I smiled at the cute girl in front of me. Back home, kids would either smile back or hide shyly behind their mothers. But here, they simply stare. And God forbid you smile for longer, the parents begin to stare too (the dad looked pretty strong, I noticed). "Uh, oh", I backed away and smiled at them, trying to assure that I just found their daughter cute, nothing else. They turned away and I sighed in relief. I looked up hopefully, found nothing. Looked around, found nothing. Looked within. Ha ha... no hope.



1 more hour (that seemed like ages) later…

Me: What’s taking these girls so long? I tell you, they want the best brand even for fries!

They had gone, upon public demand, to get some fries. We almost had to hunt for food last time, and it was their ‘turn’ now.

Seby: All your fault. You shouldn’t have given the click-happy idiots your cam.

Agreed, both of them are good at photography. Priya had also taken ‘classes’, and would click away at things from crazy angles and still make them look good. In fact, she got compliments on how she could make EVEN ME look good (rude, I know). But right then, we wanted food, not photos.

Seby: They’ll go around taking pics of everything, and get lost in the crowd.

Me: Good riddance!

Seby: I know… But what about the fries?

Me: Oh yeah...

WHIZZZZ! BOOOOOOOMMM!! We looked up to see the dazzle of fireworks.

Me: Oh no! The show has started! Where ARE these gals? What are they gonna do? How will they enjoy the show? How are we going to take pics?

Seby: Shusshh, ok? You’re getting on my nerves. They’re just test firing, that’s all. But these idiots better make it fast. Where ARE they?

Little did we know…

To be continued…

Thursday, July 16, 2009

And then it thundered... Part I

"DJ, HAAYE HAAYE!", Seby chanted at the top of his voice. Nitya pretended not to hear, and continued playing Tum dil kiiiiiiii dhadkan meeeeein... Apparently, the song was so boring he was sure he would fall asleep. What's wrong with that, you may wonder. But considering that he was driving on the highway at a full 100, that may not actually be the best thing, you know.

Priya and I were nevertheless rash enough to "take light" the consequences, and backed the DJ's decision from the backseat. Poor Seby sighed, and drove on. I think he was hoping for the Seminoles' war chant, or some adrenalin-pumping chest-thumping number (the kind that generally gets guys all excited and ready for war). But with three obstinate girls for company, he couldn't have expected any more.

We were headed to Kentucky to watch 'Thunder over Louisville', the most mindblowing fireworks display in the US (according to Seby, who had totally sold us on it). One day, he drops by and casually lays the bait:

Seby: Oh! It's a total pity I'd watched Thunder...

Me: That bad, huh?

Seby: No, you idiot! It's so supremely cool you'll not appreciate any other fireworks show in your entire goddamn life!! A million dollars worth of fireworks, all blown up in half an hour! Can you believe it?

Me: Whaaaa..!!! A million dollars just to kick off their stupid Derby festival? Is the govt. rolling in money or what? (I could hardly tell between Derby and Dobby, but was still entitled to an opinion).

Seby went on to prove that it was totally worth it, with the help of his pal for life (a.k.a. youtube). 3 minutes into the video, and Nitya and I were totally floored. It didn't take us long to convince Priya, and before we knew, the D-day arrived!

to be continued...

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Enough!!

Enough is enough, I thought. I've been 'planning' to start my own blog for a long time now, along with a 100 other things. I like to think I'm brilliant at planning; so much so that I don't want to spoil the beauty of it by even contemplating execution. In fact, my to do list, I tell myself, is a planner's ultimate dream, with categories, sub-categories, bullets, multiple fonts, et al. I totally swear by it, but somehow my roomie doesn't seem to appreciate it...

Nitya: Will you please return those books today? They're long due, and I've been telling you since...
Me: No worries! It's on my list. You know I go through it everyday, so chill!
Nitya: Ayyo, Shambhavi!! (bangs her head in frustration)

There is also a category for 'list of things already accomplished'. It serves to remind me that I'm not so bad at actually getting things done, so I can extend those periods of blissful inertia (minus the guilt that's part of the package. After all, how much can one person be expected to do?) A subconscious procrastinator, that's what I am, and now I know why. Maybe I should change the title of this post to "Planners are procrastinators", or something like that.

Wait a sec! It's my first post ever, and I've already started rambling. "Is this some kind of a sign? What is the Universe trying to tell me?" I start to ponder... "Stop rambling and JUST DO IT, will you?", my over-taxed brain cells shout back (before a few of them commit suicide). Nike has always had a tough time convincing me of their generation-defining slogan. Okay... so here I am, wondering what to write in my first post, when suddenly I realize I've already written quite a bit! (of crap, people might say, but naturally, I tend to disagree). Whoa! I pat myself, and head off...